My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 916 You carry this load, I'll lead the horse

The Cherokee was originally priced at $8,000 to $10,000 at Citibank, which is equivalent to HK$60,000 to HK$70,000.

Previously, the joint venture factory exported a complete set of parts for $9,000. Even if they assembled it themselves, the price would be higher than the original factory price. The joint venture factory itself has been taken advantage of.

Then, with tariffs and other fees added up, the starting price for a car sold domestically is 160,000 yuan.

The joint venture factories are happy to continue exploiting consumers.

Therefore, there will be little motivation for us to develop our own domestic production rate for the next 20 or 30 years.

Now about 65% of the components are domestically produced, which has definitely reduced costs significantly.

Wei Dong was instructed to demand the highest possible specifications, including leather seats and headliners, and a cassette radio. The goal was to reduce costs and increase prices for anything that could be produced in mainland China.

The HK$88,000 that comes in and goes out is definitely cheaper for smugglers than if they got it from Citibank, unless they have large roll-on/roll-off ships or container ships.

Wei Dong set this trap to see when Chen Wenliang would get involved in the large container ship business.

Right now, the priority is to sell a batch of goods to Southeast Asia, regardless of the consequences.

He was merely an OEM manufacturer for two Chrysler brands, at best a production and sales agent in mainland China, and no one authorized him to sell to Southeast Asia.

But those who have a lord's mentality can recklessly challenge the rules.

"Anyway, as long as you pay in Hong Kong, you can pick up the goods at the Western District Ferry Terminal after the goods leave Hong Kong. As for where to sell them after they leave the port, that's your business. I just need to sell them as hard as I can in Southeast Asia to prove that they can be sold!"

Chen Wenliang's expression indeed showed a hint of amusement: "Anywhere is fine?"

Wei Dong nodded: "The price for exporting back to the North American market definitely cannot exceed ten thousand US dollars, so the price of 'export price' is reasonable and legal for the factory to ship the goods. It's just that we don't have the strength to sell to North America in large quantities at the moment. It's difficult to spread the cost when transporting hundreds of vehicles to North America at a time. Once I have ships, I will send them to North America. Hahaha, that's when I will make big money."

The smuggler, repeatedly tempted, finally gave in: "A standard 12-meter container can hold three cars. You're telling me that those Panamax container ships can hold four or five thousand containers? Wow!"

Wei Dong was taken aback: "One vehicle is already four or five meters long, how can you fit three vehicles in one?"

Twelve thousand vehicles?
Each car brought back would earn three to five hundred dollars, so this shipment was quite profitable!

Smugglers may be the masters of efficiency; they must cherish every opportunity to risk their lives.

He casually picked up three cigarettes and arranged them in a "合" shape: "Two cigarettes with the middle end turned up, so we can load one more at the bottom. Loading this is a bit more troublesome, as we need to prepare iron frames and fixing cables, but it's worth it to earn half as much money again. Moreover, the further away the shipment goes, the lower the loading cost becomes. We can definitely make a fortune by shipping to North America!"

Really, the main purpose of having Wei Dong was to set a trap, to lure smugglers into building domestically produced large container ships with him.

Together, let's make Pengzhen's wharf prosperous.

It wouldn't matter if it were to benefit Li Bancheng's East District Wharf.

We need to quickly highlight the advantages of these container ships to encourage manufacturers in coastal areas to shift their focus towards ocean-going foreign trade.

There's a saying in taxation: local policies should at least be lenient to nurture businesses so that they can thrive and generate more tax revenue.

Wei Dong was building the docks according to this idea.

Only when there are more export-oriented foreign trade enterprises will the port business be good.

He's even planning to wait in line, and once two or three container ships are completed and the car factory's production capacity is on track, build another roll-on/roll-off ship specifically for transporting cars.

We used to watch short videos all the time, and it was said that domestic new energy vehicle manufacturers built their own ships so they could just drive them on and transport them away.

Think about it carefully, there's absolutely no other way to achieve such high loading efficiency!

The dominance of container ships over all bulk carriers is a fact proven by history.

Ro-Ro ships are also, in a sense, bulk carriers.

Chen Wenliang shook his head in agreement: "Impossible. No roll-on/roll-off ship can carry as much cargo as a container ship. The way a standard container is loaded with three trucks is almost like stacking every inch of space on the ship. Roll-on/roll-off ships are driven on by the passengers themselves, so there is a lot of space, especially on the roof of the trucks. It would be good if they could be loaded halfway. Adong, when will you be able to produce a large quantity of these trucks? I'll take over the transport!"

Wei Dong could have easily taken over the entire business himself, but now he's eager to involve even more people.

What he wants is a fleet of large cargo ships to drive foreign trade: "Cherokee production is currently 50,000 units per year, and it will take another two years to reach full production. We'll see if we can reach 20,000 units for sedans this year, but we expect to ramp up production quickly. Next year, both factories will be able to send one or two ships of cargo to North America. I'll let you know when that happens."

Chen Wenliang rubbed his hands together, looking around with obvious delight. He probably had that kind of magnanimous attitude of a江湖人 (jianghu person, someone who has made a deal) who thinks, "I'll pay the bill today."

Just have Weidong invite him to the movies tomorrow. The main thing is to instruct them to arrange for someone to load the goods onto a truck and ship them to Malaysia overnight; it's a journey of over a thousand kilometers.

Chen Wenliang patted his chest and said no problem, he would just take ten units, he would pay and pick them up.

Qin Yuye then arranged for someone to send the receipts and similar documents to Pengzhen, notifying customs to verify and release the goods.

Wei Dong also called and instructed the dock manager there to send someone to learn the "high-end" vehicle transport techniques.

As a result, the small cargo ship that sneaked over overnight was just like an ocean-going fishing vessel. They simply hoisted ten Cherokees inside, placed them on the ship with no technical skill, wrapped them with anti-collision foam, or even just stuffed them with cotton blankets, covered them with tarpaulins, and then disappeared into the night.

Old Fang went to check it out and said it must be a smuggling boat: "Didn't you think about where they would secretly land the cars and sell them to the mainland?"

Wei Dong chuckled and said, "I didn't smuggle anything. I exported it. How it ends up is their business. When the parts were imported, we assembled it and sold it for 160,000. Now that it's domestically produced, whether the price should be lowered is not up to me. The market will decide."

Old Fang reminded him: "The development of the automobile industry requires funds, and this money is very important."

Wei Dong disagreed: "Let's not even talk about the fact that most of these car prices are currently being covered by government vehicles. This money... how many billions have been spent on imported cars? Has it promoted the development of domestic production? This is no longer something that the country can accomplish by spending a lot of money and concentrating its efforts. Facts have proven that joint ventures are needed to drive the marketization of private enterprises. Moreover, we can't focus on the contributions of ordinary people. Their wages are much lower than those in the US, yet their car prices are several times higher. How can people be convinced of this? How can they stop people from flocking abroad?"

Old Fang astutely observed: "Oh dear, the young comrade is complaining again."

Rang Weidong talked about finding the TD boy today: "He was injured, either at work or in battle. I suspect he was a soldier. He must be feeling a bit sad. Great achievements are made by countless ordinary people. I myself grew up from a rural area. Everything I do now is to help ordinary people live a better life as soon as possible."

Old Fang paused for a moment before speaking: "Remember what you said, remember your ideals at this time, and I'll prepare to submit my retirement application so you can take over."

Wei Dong cried out in despair, "I wanted to retire! I'm so busy with my own things, and I'm only twenty-four! Look how busy I am!"

Old Fang said leisurely, "It's not uncommon for people to become division commanders or army commanders at the age of twenty-four during the revolution. I'm seventy years old, shouldn't I take a break?"

Asking Wei Dong to rely on his seniority must have been frustrating: "That's fine, but I can't take that responsibility. You have... docks, containers, banks, what else?"

Old Fang casually revealed: "The insurance company of the Investment Promotion Bureau has been approved to start operations. Also, the policy should be adjusted this year to allow the legal transfer of land use rights. The real estate group will definitely be established. You are an expert in this."

Listen to what they're saying! Every single category is a conglomerate!
This left Wei Dong completely baffled: "I have tens of thousands of people in Jiangzhou, and now there are nearly ten thousand more in Pengzhen. Shanghai and Beijing mainly deal with the automotive industry chain. How can I possibly manage all these large-scale operations?"

Old Fang said unhurriedly, "I don't understand insurance or real estate either. I'll learn slowly. You're still young. In the end, this is the state-owned enterprise-private partnership model you proposed. It's good. You even have the theoretical guidelines. So you should prove your theory with practice. As for the large scale, isn't it just about knowing how to delegate and empower people? I think you've done a good job. Pengzhen's generals are all capable and competent, especially that person who was poached from the oil company. I didn't notice him even after working next door for ten years!"

This left Wei Dong speechless.

I have the eye of heaven; I can see people, but I can't just discover generals and commanders from ordinary people.

Cheng Lang may be good at judging people, but he is clearly better at judging Hong Kong people.

The current situation made Wei Dong want to bring You Qili over and give him a good scolding!
Because Lao Fang could easily persuade him: "Whether a person can be elevated is not determined by favorable circumstances, but by whether they can overcome their personal flaws and persist in their ideals under conditions of setbacks, complex struggles and cruel reality. Well, this year can be considered a setback, but it can also be considered a new path. You have proven yourself, and I believe you can do it in the future."

Yes, everyone thought that sending Wei Dong to Hong Kong under heavy pressure was a way to slip away from his duties, but who knew that he would bring back two industrial chains from overseas and Hong Kong, creating a bizarre achievement in Hong Kong basketball.

What's even more commendable is that he still cares about ordinary people at this time.

What could an old revolutionary possibly worry about?

The young comrade could only mutter, "I don't have that much time to stay in Pengzhen, and I might not be able to command your old-timers."

Old Fang also relented: "Is it okay if I live in the West District after I retire?"

This is what it means to be committed and have someone by your side.

Wei Dong was so grateful that Lao Fang was humming a tune on the phone: "Then it's settled. Xiao Xie and the others will be allocated to you first. After I finish the formalities here, you can go over and take over the work in the office building."

China Merchants Investment Council has its own office in Hong Kong, and like several other Hong Kong-based organizations, it is dedicated to business matters.

At least up to this point, it wasn't a behemoth; before Lao Fang, it was still a small unit.

But looking at the architectural blueprint that Lao Fang has built, Wei Dong realizes just how vast the future will be.

He really wanted to call You Qili over and give him a good scolding.

Look at the trouble this attempt to put theory into practice has caused...

(End of this chapter)